Press Release

Médecins Sans Frontières Completes Handover of Medical Services in Timergara DHQ Hospital to Health Department

27th January 2021

Lower Dir: After 12 years of support, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has handed over all its medical activities to Department of Health in Timergara district headquarters (DHQ) hospital, Lower Dir. The international medical and humanitarian organization announced gradually handing over the responsibility of the various departments in November 2019. It handed over the emergency room in March 2020 and the newborn unit in August 2020. The handover process is fully complete in January 2021 after MSF hands over the maternal and child health unit and support services, such as, laundry, blood bank, sterilization, and the waste management and energy zones.

MSF first started its emergency activities in Lower Dir back in 2008 to address the medical and humanitarian needs of the internally displaced people (IDPs). In 2009, MSF started providing services in the emergency room of the Timergara DHQ hospital followed by its support to the maternal and child healthcare services in 2010 and newborn unit in 2014. MSF also established a ‘Kangaroo Mother Care’ unit for the premature and low-birth weight babies, and upgraded the waste management system in the hospital.

MSF’s country representative in Pakistan, Aymen Abdullah spoke at a handover ceremony with the health authorities on Wednesday, “MSF’s varied medical and humanitarian activities in Lower Dir demonstrate the changing landscape of the needs in the country over the past decade, and this project has been an example of successful collaboration between MSF and Department of Health. We feel happy to have served the community for over 12 years through many crisis and emergencies, and this project will remain memorable for all of us.”

Over the years, upgradation and rehabilitation work in the new-born unit, the maternity and the waste and energy zones amongst others were completed by MSF to enhance the capacity of the hospital. Over 96,800 deliveries were assisted including more than 13,000 caesarean sections, more than 9000 new-borns were admitted and 1,058,242 patients were seen in the emergency room by MSF. MSF teams also conducted over 57000 health promotion sessions and more than 37000 mental-health counselling sessions.

The international organization also responded to a number of emergencies such as disease outbreaks of dengue, acute watery diarrhoea, measles and COVID-19 in the area, and provided medical and humanitarian aid during the floods and earthquakes in 2010, 2015 and 2016. At the time of handover, MSF has also donated drugs and medical equipment to the Timergara DHQ hospital to ensure a smooth transition and continuation of the services without any interruption.

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Press Release

“The handover of MSF medical activities in Timergara DHQ Hospital does not mean an end to our relationship with the area or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. MSF remains committed to serving the people in the region, and we are in contact with the Health Department to see where MSF can be of an added value through new possible activities,” added Aymen Abdullah.

“In all sincerity, I express my gratitude to Government of Pakistan, provincial Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local authorities and all other stakeholders for their support and cooperation over the years. My utmost sincere thanks also goes to MSF staff members for their unbound and strong commitment to serve the people in need for more than 12 years.”

About Us Médecins Sans Frontières is an international medical humanitarian association that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural disasters and exclusion from healthcare. MSF first started working in Pakistan in 1986, and now provides urgently needed quality medical care to people in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces. MSF works in collaboration with the health authorities in the country and its activities in Pakistan are funded solely by private donations, with no institutional or government contributions.

For more information, contact:

Zahra Shoukat Communications Officer Contact No: +92 51 831 2156 Email: [email protected]

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